Because WHO reports only two survivors among the 21 H5N1 cases in Indonesia in 2009, they must have been from Jakarta. It seems that at least 10 of the 21 confirmed cases of H5N1 in Indonesia in 2009 occurred in the urban Jakarta area including the family cluster.

Why discuss this now in 2012? Isn’t it almost ancient history?

First, it shows that H5N1 infections in Indonesia in 2009 were not just occurring in the countryside, but were common in urban settings in DKI Jakarta.

Second, had the H5N1 strain circulating in DKI Jarkarta in 2009 become easily transmissible, there would have been no stopping it in an urban environment. A “Tamiflu blanket” would have been ineffective. The failure of Indonesia to report these cases immediately would have hampered pandemic preparations elsewhere in the world. Thankfully the strain(s) didn’t mutate or change in 2009.

That is why we here at FluTrackers continually call for increased human and animal surveillance for H5N1 and other emerging infectious disease. While the world will not be able to stop the next pandemic, some advance warning might help us all better prepare for the outcome.

Because WHO reports only two survivors among the 21 H5N1 cases in Indonesia in 2009, they must have been from Jakarta. It seems that at least 10 of the 21 confirmed cases of H5N1 in Indonesia in 2009 occurred in the urban Jakarta area including the family cluster.

Why discuss this now in 2012? Isn’t it almost ancient history?

First, it shows that H5N1 infections in Indonesia in 2009 were not just occurring in the countryside, but were common in urban settings in DKI Jakarta.

Second, had the H5N1 strain circulating in DKI Jarkarta in 2009 become easily transmissible, there would have been no stopping it in an urban environment. A “Tamiflu blanket” would have been ineffective. The failure of Indonesia to report these cases immediately would have hampered pandemic preparations elsewhere in the world. Thankfully the strain(s) didn’t mutate or change in 2009.

That is why we here at FluTrackers continually call for increased human and animal surveillance for H5N1 and other emerging infectious disease. While the world will not be able to stop the next pandemic, some advance warning might help us all better prepare for the outcome.